I have to say that this is the first non fiction about Appalachia that is written in an honest light at least to me that I read. And it was written by an outsider. But he was fair. I do plan to read more of Alan Maimon's work in the future. And I have say if you only read one book about Appalachia make it this one.

As someone from Appalachian Kentucky, I was thoroughly looking forward to this book. However, I didn't enjoy the bland writing style.

Read if you: Are interested in thoughtful and wide-ranging examinations of Appalachia that aren't patronizing or exploitative.

If you liked Death in Mud Lick by Eric Eyre, you should read this one. Although Twilight in Hazard is not just about the opiod crisis (and is concerned with eastern Kentucky, whereas Death in Mud Lick has a West Virginia focus), the physical and emotional trauma in the region due to opiods is deeply felt; the latter part of Twilight in Hazard is also a chronicle of the long decline of local journalism.

Librarians/booksellers: Purchase if interest in Appalachia-related books are popular; this is definitely noteworthy.

Many thanks to Melville House and NetGalley for a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Twilight in Hazard: An Appalachian Reckoning is named after Hazard, Kentucky, one of many small towns in rural Kentucky with unusual names. Sometimes people affiliate this town name with the show Dukes of Hazzard, which is spelled differently.

Much has been made about the urban and rural divide in America, a topic that reached new urgency as pundits, pollsters, and social scientists sought to make sense of the 2016 presidential election. Overnight, books such as J.D. Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy became best-sellers. A national narrative was told by reporters from Big City, USA, popping in to visit rural Kentucky and other rural spots, to identify their “otherness”.

While Alan Maimon left Kentucky in early 2006, a full decade before that hoopla, his wife was a local and so he has stayed connected to the area. In this book, he sets out to explain a more in-depth recent history of eastern Kentucky, a tale of labor unions eroding over the decades, of political loyalties that created Democrats on paper but who rarely voted for that party.

In his time driving the back roads, meeting endless personalities, and uncovering in-depth stories on which local journalism thrives, Maimon became attached to the trials and tribulations of the people in eastern Kentucky. He was able to hit at the heart of stereotypes in the area and to highlight how various national news programs over the years have continued to embed a simple, unappealing narrative of residents of this region. Through a lens of compassion and understanding, Maimon tackled some of the significant blights impacting the lives and livelihoods of many residents.

The early aughts led to an explosion of the now-infamous Oxy-Contin problems as specific doctors and pharmaceutical companies knowingly pushed their prescription drugs on individuals who then became addicted. The safety abuses of large coal mines had long been tolerated and swept under the rug, coal workers had lost rights as their unions frayed, and failure to implement even minor, low-cost measures led to significant permanent disability and loss of life of miners. At the same time, what are residents to do when there is a pride in their chosen profession and it is one of the major industries in the area? Behind the politics surrounding coal mining, which have gotten a lot of air play in recent decades, it is an industry that is eroding through market forces and through increased automation. Add to these factors several interesting stories of collusion and corruption and even murder.

A fair read and summary of what goes on in eastern Kentucky might be as simple as that cliched concept where the rich and powerful continue to line their pockets and take advantage of the less fortunate.

Underpinning Maimon’s story is an hour-glass running out the time on his work in the region. As he was writing for the state-wide paper and based in eastern Kentucky, he watched his newspaper industry changing. Decades of mergers and restructuring of newsrooms had decreased the capacity for truly local news, much less high quality investigative journalism. When his time ran out in Kentucky, no one came in behind him. This is a story repeating itself around the country. What other stories are not being investigated or told? What will the lasting impact of that be in a society that aspires to one built on a foundation of justice?

Of course state boundary lines are, ultimately, arbitrary. Eastern Kentucky bleeds in to my home state of Virginia’s far rural southwest, and it lingers, too, into West Virginia. My local paper, The Roanoke Times, covers all of southwestern Virginia and so many of the stories told by Maimon echo what I read about in my own local paper. A former local journalist, Beth Macy, has written several books based on her experience covering the region: Dopesick, about the Oxy-Contin crisis, and Factory Man, about the impact of former furniture-making company towns losing work and closing up (a parallel to the coal industry). These people-centered stories are important to tell, and I hope people will continue to find a way to tell them. I have a much greater appreciation for and understanding of the plight that rural Kentucky is facing and commend Maimon’s ability to tell this important and difficult story in a way that is easy to connect with and does not feel hopeless.

Excellent recent history of Eastern Kentucky, which extrapolates well to much of Central Appalachia. From the opioid crisis to the coal industry; politics (local and National) to crusaders; corruption to Covid; the author takes a deep dive into the issues of a region he knows well and loves but with the eye of an outsider. As a native from just across the Virginia border, I will be recommending this to everyone who wants to talk to me about the abysmal Hillbilly Elegy.